Huntress
by Illeana Starbright
Summary: Breana was never ordinary but when she accidentally stumbles on the fellowship after deserting her army strange things are bound to happen. More than she realizes Bre becomes part of the fellowship but will she survive the encounter or will her cousin win
1. Introduction:Escape

_**Introduction: Escape**_

_We are not human nor have we ever been so. Once we protected men and fought alongside them but those days ended when the One Ring was created out of the flames of Mount Doom. We became slaves to the One Ring's power. We were hated and feared throughout Middle Earth. We were lowered down from our own race to being called a copy of the elves. All sought to kill us. This we knew from the moment we joined the ranks of our brethren. Most reveled in that hate. I am one of the few that did not._

I stood at the edge of camp looking at the wooden gate in the thick wood walls we had built. The sun sunk past the horizon leaving a bloody stain in the sky. Still I waited while the wind blew my short brown hair into my brilliant violet eyes; once a mark of my kind but now rare. A breeze touched my skin, not enough to cool me.

_We never gained the vast power of the elves but we did gain some power of our own. Few even know of these powers because in this age they are rare. I am one of the few who has and can control a power. Fire burns within me; bright and hot. It answers to no master but me and it warms me. I keep it hidden because the day of discovery was also a day of great sorrows for me._

Alec finally joins me as the light begins to fade. "You're crazy. This will never work," he said sharply.

"It will. I am one of the elite and I can imitate Alix well enough," I retorted.

_Ahh, the elite. The Witch King, leader of the ringwraiths, personally picks nine of the best hunters to serve on a council of the elite. The black cloaks with the silver insignia of the eye on the bottom left may win you honor from the hunters but no good from any other races. As for Alix she is my cousin. Alixsandra and her sister Nicole, Alix and Nikki to me, were once the only cousins I knew. I loved Alix but I always loved Nikki more for her kindness. Alix saw this and began to hate me for it. I even believe she killed Nikki with her power for revenge on me. Still, there is nothing she can do about my rise to the elite._

"You'll never make it out of the camp before Alix finds out. She'll send the hounds to kill you," Alec said, his blue-violet eyes flashing. He wants this to work as much as I do but he does not allow himself hope.

"I know this. The others have not thought that far or if they have they chose to hope otherwise. I will draw off the hounds Alec," I tell him. Alec fingers the silver medallion that marks him as second-in-command to Alix. I have a bronze one tucked under my shirt that marks me second-in-command to Alec and another hunter has a copper one that marks him third-in-command to Alec.

"Fine, Lacey will go. When will she need to be here?" Alec asks, running a hand through his white blonde hair.

"An hour before midnight," I tell him and he hurries off.

_Seven others will join me here an hour before midnight to escape. Meredith and Mackenzie, the dark haired brown-violet eyed twins who are seventeen in age will arrive first because they like to be early. Daniel, the caramel haired brown eyed boy of eighteen who wears the copper medallion will be next with his fiancé the truth telling Verity. Fire haired six year old Valerie, as red headed as her Verity, will come with her sister. Seventeen year old Danika with her curly brown hair and brown eyes will be next carrying blonde haired blue eyed seven year old Lacey. Then we will depart._

They gathered at the gate an hour before midnight and I pulled the hood of my black cloak of the elite up. The others followed suit as I led them to the gate. "Who comes here?" one of the watchers of the gate called.

"You fools let us pass. You would not wish us to be late on this errand," I hissed in my best impersonation of Alix.

"My lady I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you," the guard stammered as he and his fellow watcher opened the gate.

"Make sure it does not happen again," I snapped as I led my companions through. We walked in total silence across the plain and into the woods. That was when we heard the howling of the hounds.

_The hounds are beasts specifically designed to track us down. They are large as wolves with the stripes of a Tasmanian devil and fangs as sharp as shark's teeth. Their eyes are the yellow green of cats and they can see well in the dark. Their only fault is their endurance._

We ran, crashing through the woods in a vain hope to outrun them. "Go," I yelled as I turned back, sword in hand. "I will lead them off." The others ran, shooting reluctant glances in my direction. I only looked back once. The deadly chase began as I led the wolves off in a different direction.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

It had been two long weeks since Bre had out ran the tracker hounds. Two long weeks since she had seen the Halflings and the ranger. Two long weeks since she had been stabbed by a ringwraith as it fell burning from above. Two weeks since that pain had wracked her body; the pain that would have killed anyone human. Two long weeks since she had been clawed across the back by the poisonous claws of the deadly seeker birds. Two weeks spent in places she would rather forget. In those two weeks she had followed the halflings and the ranger out of curiosity. When they had entered Rivendell she lay in wait in the other side. Today a company of nine had just left. Nine made her think of creatures best left unknown and with an effort she dragged herself back to the present.

It was an odd group. There were two men; the ranger and a man of Gondor, an elf, a dwarf from the deep mines, four halflings, and one wizard. They were seated now around a fire that drove away the shadows and curiosity drove Bre closer than was perhaps wise. Her wounds throbbed, the ice of the ringwraith's first and then the fire of the seeker's. Her own fire inside her fought to hold the deadly poisons at bay as they battled each other. The sudden pain made her rock back slightly and a branch cracked under her foot. The entire group looked her direction and she heard the elf say, "Something fowl is about. I feel it near us. No idle branch breaks here." Bre turned and fled, pain perhaps making her more foolish than she should have been. She heard the pounding footsteps of men and the light steps of an elf behind her.

The first man, the one of Gondor, almost caught her but she darted to the side in time. She was not near as worried about him as she was the ranger and the elf. Both were well known to track down and kill her kind. The pain made her slow and clumsy as well. Her eyes blurred with tears as another flash of pain raced through her. She slipped on a twisted tree root and hit the ground, gasping for breath. She tried to stand and felt someone hold her down. She heard the hiss of a knife drawn in its sheath and couldn't stop a gasp escaping from her as her head was yanked back and she felt the cool steel at her throat. "Hold Legolas," she heard a voice say in the darkness. "I think this one meant us no harm."

"One hunter means more to follow," her captor argued. "They come in swarms. If we leave this one alive she will go back and tell her leader all that has passed. They will massacre us."

"Please, I am alone," Bre forced out. "I am but a deserter." They wouldn't believe her but her pride insisted she try.

"None desert the hunter's ranks. They are loyal to Sauron curse them," her captor hissed and Bre felt the knife press tighter against her throat. Loyal to Sauron, what a laugh, forced to serve him was the correct term though some enjoyed their forced servitude.

"I said hold Legolas. We will not kill her here in cold blood. We'll keep her captive with us for she must not tell others about us but we must not kill without reason."

"Your kindness will murder us all in our sleep Aragorn," Legolas retorted but he sheathed the knife and stalked off. Bre was pulled roughly to her feet but she didn't resist as she was dragged back to their camp. She did not intend to die yet.

"You bring a hunter into our camp alive," the man of Gondor asked. "What folly is this?"

"One that I argued against," Legolas said, turning his back on her. "She will be the death of us all." Actually Bre knew that their death would probably be Alix's fault but correcting them at this point was just plain stupid.

"Master elf perhaps you are wise," the wizard said, "but I believe this one has a part to play even yet in our fellowship. Aragorn may have been right to spare her life. We shall see." Then he went back to blowing smoke rings from his pipe. Wizards, they can never come right out and say what they know. Bre disliked dealing with them.

"Who are the hunters?" one of the halflings asked.

"Killers, cold blooded copies of elves but faulted ones at that," Legolas said as Bre knew he would. The elves hated hunters almost as much as men did.

"They travel from place to place killing everyone in their path. They are monsters," the man of Gondor added. Not that he knew anything. His people had hated the hunters before they changed sides. Her kind had always sided with the men of Rohan.

"No they are not. They are their own creation and not a copy of one of the other races and they were not always killers. Have you forgotten your legends Boromir of Gondor?" the ranger asked.

"Legends are not always the truth Aragorn," Boromir replied bitterly. "Now I would rest for the road through Caradhras is long and I grow weary as the night ages." Caradhras. No good would come out of that mountain. Bre was certain of that.

"Rest if you would then. Legolas and I will keep the first watch," Aragorn said. It was not long before almost everyone else had drifted off. Even Bre in her discomfort was minutes from sleep when Legolas spoke.

"Why do we keep this one alive? Aragorn you know as well as I how they are?"

"You must separate your feelings from her Legolas. Not all is always how it seems."

"How do you know this? What makes you think she is so different from all the rest of her kind?"

" For some reasons it will be up to her to reveal but I will tell you this; they are all trained at a young age to fight to the very last but did she fight you?"

"Aragorn I had a knife to her throat. It would have been suicide to fight."

"Yet I have seen others fight even then; and been forced to kill them. Many of them don't even have a sense of self preservation. That is what makes her different."

Bre drifted off that night but when she dreamed she began to wish she hadn't. _"Move out. The rangers have found our camp. Move out." Nikki's commands quickly spread from person to person. Bre scrambled along the icy cliff at the edge of the camp. It had froze overnight and the path was now treacherous. She was the last one in the line heading out and at eight she was one of the youngest._

_That was when she slipped. She cried out but in the turmoil no one heard her, or so she thought. Her freefall to death was stopped when a strong hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her up. She whimpered when she saw the face of her rescuer, a ranger. He hesitated for a moment and then released her, sword still sheathed. "Run, quickly now or others will come and finish you off." When Bre hesitated he said, "Go." Then he turned and walked the other direction. Bre turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her through the outskirts of the burning camp._

Bre woke with a start, gasping for breath. The sun was just rising and Aragorn was once again standing watch, but this time alone. He had spared her life. She had almost forgotten about that day. She lay in silence, pondering the memory until everyone else was up and they began moving. The reached Caradhras by noon and began the ascent. Soon it was obvious that other forces meant to stop the fellowship. Snow poured down on them and wind lashed around them like an angry dragon. Large clumps of snow began to rain down on them and Bre began to despair. She hated snow and it was pathetic in her mind for her to freeze to death. The pain in her wounds was growing and even the fire she held secret inside of her began to die. The poison began to grow inside her.

When they finally stopped the pain was too much for her and she sunk to the ground. "We must turn back. We should go through the mines of Moria," the dwarf yelled over the growing wind. Bre quickly lost track of the conversation as the world began to dissolve; first into unrecognizable shapes and then to blackness. She drifted through a world of darkness and pain and she began to wonder if she would ever come out alive. The fire inside of her that had long kept both poisons at bay was failing. The poisons, no longer confined together, stopped fighting each other and devoted themselves to killing her. She dreamed of another day as cold as this one as the fever began to overtake her.

_Snow whipped around her and many of her brethren stumbled in the snow. She saw a girl not much older than seven stumbled and she threw her body over the girl's. Hot blood ran down her back as the whip opened her flesh to reveal what was underneath. Bre hissed in pain and pulled herself upright to glare at the ringwraith who wielded the whip. It moved on, uncaring. They had set out from their camp with six thousand but they were now down to four thousand and they had only traveled for two days. The cold harsh winter and the blood shed because of the whips were killing many._

"Breana." Her name snapped her from the world of nightmares. "Breana we need to know what to do for the cuts on your back," the ranger said. The cuts? Oh yes, the seeker. Bre struggled to focus. "Breana, tell me."

"There is a brown leather pouch in my bag. Inside it is a wooden box with the antidote in it. Put it only on the poison and wash your hands afterwards or the antidote will poison you," Bre said. She heard someone dig through her bag and then light footsteps.

"I found it but I don't see why…" a voice hissed.

"Now is not the time Legolas," the ranger snapped. "Don't let your hate blind you." She felt the back of her shirt and undershirt lift slightly and then the fire that spread through her as the antidote cut through the pain. For a moment her world blurred and then it cleared as the seeker's poison was destroyed. A moment later she felt a light warmth blossom through her as the other antidote cut through the ringwraith's poison. Her fire flared inside her, warming her.

Then the wizard made the announcement. "Moria is open to us now." Bre stood and felt herself sway. She was still tired and weak; she despised that feeling. In the hunter's ranks weakness often led to death, painful tormenting death. The ranger helped support her as she entered Moria. Her foot crunched on a dwarf skull. She stared impassively at it, examining the back arrows dug deep into rib cages or eye sockets. It was nothing she hadn't seen before. She was only glad they were skeletons; cleaning her boots of brain fluid would be a pain in her condition.

"This is no mine, it is a graveyard," Boromir said. Bre had to agree. If there was any living her she would be very surprised. They turned to exit Moria and as Bre walked she felt her strength returning. Much like the fire burning inside her, her strength grew quickly as it had done since conditions for the hunters had become harsher. That was when the creature reared its head. Bre heard a scream and looked up from the death around her. One of the halflings was yanked into the air by an olive green tentacle.

Bre didn't stop to think. Through her harsh life she had always attempted to protect the ones younger than her or unable to go on from punishment in any way possible. She had been brought up that way and it spited her cousin to have an empathetic fool in her family. Bre slipped into the water, trying to avoid flailing tentacles and the path of swords. When one tentacle came at her she didn't pause to think. She pressed her hands onto the limb and pushed her fire into it. The tentacle lashed back and another knocked her out of the water. Bre saw suspicious glances her direction and decided to stay out of the fray. The halfling was finally retrieved and they raced back into Moria. The opening was pulled down behind them.

"We must now travel through Moria. It will take us several days to reach the other side," The wizard said. Then he began to walk off, away from the stench of death. Bre followed slowly at the back near Aragorn. And so her living nightmare began.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

Bre had been in Moria before, once. It was a trip that had lingered in her worst dreams. Now it almost seemed peaceful, in a desolate gloomy sort of way. It didn't seem like it had what it took to murder several good fighters. The fellowship had stopped for rest near a gaping chasm because the wizard had forgotten where they had to go next. She could have told him but they wouldn't have believed her anyway. Why trust the word of an enemy? Bre closed her eyes and was about to slip off into dreamland when she heard voices whispering. "Who would be foolish enough to carve their name in this wall or sign it with blood before they had reached the end," Boromir commented.

Bre closed her eyes. She could still hear the excited whispering echoing in her head. _"Let's put our names here. Then we will be commemorated forever in stone," Leslie whispered. They had all agreed, drunk on the signs of early success. That was when things started to go south. _It had all seemed so reasonable at the time. They had been foolish and Bre's friends Leslie, Sara, and Kaitlyn had paid the price. Bre was startled out of the nightmarish quality of her thoughts by the sudden snapping of the fire.

Slowly her eyes began to close and she fell asleep. _She was twelve. She crouched inside the tent, dim light from an outside fire flickering and causing shadows to dance around. The ranger knelt over his papers, muttering to himself. Candle light glimmered of the sword at his waist. Bre felt herself beginning to drift off in her hiding place. She shifted slightly and the trunk that was hiding behind groaned. Bre froze as the ranger stood up and walked toward her. She tried to move but the cloth covering her trapped her. By the time she got free the trunk was shoved aside and there was the point of a sword pressed against her chest._

"_What's your name hunter?" the ranger asked, his voice cold._

"_Breana," she managed to get out from behind suddenly clumsy lips. Terror pulsed in her and her heart was just a throbbing muscle trying to escape out of her throat._

"_What are you doing here? What did you see?" he snapped. Bre shook her head. Either way sharing that information could make her life forfeit._

"_Please my lord," she managed to stutter out, "I didn't see anything."_

"_Why did you call me that?"_

"_What?" Bre asked, startled_

"_Why did you call me that?" he asked, his voice gentler somehow._

"_It fits," Bre said simply. In fact she wasn't exactly sure why._

_A voice outside the tent yelled, "Strider, we need you out here." His attention seemed to waver and Bre darted out of the back of the tent. She chanced one glance behind her and thought she saw an amused smile on his face before she turned to run again._

"We're going to start moving again."

"Hello Strider," Bre replied, trying to hide a grin of success. Aragorn looked at her for a moment and then nodded. Bre sat up, barely containing a groan. She felt stiff and sore. They made their way deeper into the deadly caves and Bre began to hope that they would awaken no evil.

They arrived in a hall, coated in dust and the skeletons of the dead. Bre knew what had happened before anyone else. The ornate grave in the center of the room held the lord of Moria. The orcs had killed the others. The wizard began to read out of a stained decaying book and the haunting words echoed in her head. "They are coming. We cannot get out," the wizard read and a haunted silence over took them. That was when one of the halflings knocked an armored head down a hallow in the ground. The clanging resounded around them for a few moments and then the wizard said, "Fool of a Took. Next time thrown yourself down there and spare us your foolishness." He had just turned when they heard the pounding of footsteps.

Boromir raced to the doors and then cursed, slamming them shut. "They brought a cave troll." Everyone began to arm themselves. Bre braced herself, knowing who they were; orcs. It took only a few moments for the orcs to break in and chaos ensued. The fellowship killed most of the orcs and Bre managed to stay out of the way. Then one orc that decided it would be a good idea to kill her was rewarded by being kicked in the head and killed with its own knife. They weren't always the smartest beings in Middle Earth nor did the forge the best weapons but the weapons did hold up. Bre decided to keep the knife regardless of how deplorable orc forging was. The cave troll led the second group of orcs into the room and Bre slipped into the shadows again. The massive troll rammed one of the halflings and Bre heard cries of despair. Once the cave troll was dispatched they rushed to the halfling. Once they were sure he was all in one piece the race began. First Aragorn took the knife from Bre. She sighed even though she had guessed that would happen. It would have been nice to have a weapon.

They entered one of the largest halls in Moria and that was when the orcs struck. Thousands of them raced around the fellowship, several of them sneering at Bre. She felt her temper rise. She wasn't here to trade insults with these fools. They were stupid looking enough before they stopped talking and one of them was bound to recognize her. Most people knew who Alix's cousin was. That was when the murmur began to spread through their ranks. _Fire_. Bre felt dread rush through her. "It is a balrog. Run you fools," she heard the wizard say and Bre ran. Hesitation was not an option.

They made their way through the twisting pathways elevated above the ground. Every break in the path was part of a nightmare. A missing chunk of their path reminded her of why Arissa was dead. A bloodstain on the path farther back was Sylvie's. Arrows flew by them and the world flew by Bre in an uncomprehending blur. "I thought hunters weren't afraid of anything," Legolas sneered at one point.

"There are some things on this earth that should be feared," Bre replied, her voice tinged with panic. She was reliving a nightmare.

"She is right, now hurry," the wizard ordered. They ran faster down precarious platforms. Somehow they made it to the bridge when the balrog formed behind them.

It was as horrible as she remembered. It towered above them all; a demon made of black smoke and fire and fear. "You cannot pass," the wizard said, parrying a blow. The creature switched from a sword to a whip and swung it at the space above the wizard's head. "You cannot pass," the wizard roared and banged his staff on the floor. The bridge cracked and the balrog went tumbling down. The wizard turned to look at them but with a final crack the whip of the balrog pulled the wizard to the edge. He was near falling when he said "run you fools." Then he tumbled out of sight. Bre decided she would always remember the look of terrible knowledge on his face when he fell.

"Gandalf," one of the halflings called, "Gandalf." Bre scrambled out of the gloom of the mines of Moria and threw up on the grass. Bile and blood rose up again as her stomach heaved and she fought to fend off the waking nightmares.

"You knew. You knew about this and never said a word," the elf snapped. Bre flinched under the force of his anger. Yes she had known and no she hadn't said a word.

"Legolas," Aragorn said. Legolas shook his head and Bre felt white hot anger rush through her.

"Yes I knew but would you have believed me? It was the word of an enemy. You wouldn't have listened," Bre yelled. She stumbled a few steps and then doubled over, throwing up a combination of blood and stomach acid. Nothing could erase the horrors of that cave, nothing. Even daylight couldn't get rid of the waking dreams. Bre stumbled on after the others when Legolas pulled her from the rock she had collapsed onto. The day time nightmares continued.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

Sunrise came slowly the next morning. No one would speak to Bre nor would she speak to them if given a choice. The day dragged on and on. They slowly entered a forest, trees towering over them. Bre had maybe a spilt seconds warning before she was staring at the end of an arrow. She could see Haldir glaring at her as he spoke to the fellowship. She may have been friends with his daughter but Haldir had never liked her. The company was led on up the winding stairs build into one of the largest trees left on the planet. Bre felt warmth rush through her as she realized where they were at. There at the top of the tree was Galadrial and her lord Celeborn. Standing a little ways behind Galadrial was, no, it couldn't be. "Breana, _Im ista lin qualme_," Sanya said.

"What gave you that idea?" Bre replied, "_Im tereva_." Sanya shook her head, smiling, and hugged Bre.

"_Tulya_," she ordered and pulled Bre after her. "You look so sad, why?"

Bre sat down next to her friend and sighed. "_Ohta tulya. Russes kemi noore_."

"It isn't as awful as you think."

"**Neve. Este sente**," Bre barked, switching to the hunter's language in her frustration.

"What did you say?" Sanya asked patiently.

"I said its worse. Many will die before this is over Sani."

"_Sanya, tulya_," a woman's voice called from a ways away.

"I must go now Bre. _Im meleth le_," Sanya told her and then she was gone; a glimpse of her silvery hair and hint of the flowery perfume she love all that was left of her.

Bre rejoined the fellowship at sunset, more melancholy than she had been in a long time. Talking to Sanya had brought back long lost memories of a peaceful childhood. It also brought back memories of the days her mother was still alive. So many things had changed since then. "So you speak Elvish," Legolas said after a moment of silence.

"**Ave canae**," Bre replied, knowing the elf wouldn't understand.

"Translate please," Aragorn said calmly, "If you're going to use that language be prepared to translate."

"I said I know," Bre snapped irritably.

It took her a long time to drift off but she slept peacefully for the first time in days. At dawn they prepared to set out. Galadrial gave gifts to all of them and she slipped Bre two things before she left. "First this is a picture of your ancestress, one of the only surviving ones. Guard it well. Here is the amethyst of Sourle. My mirror tells me that Sourle's part in your story is not over. The city will again rise under a new lady soon," Galadrial whispered. "May luck go with you daughter of Azrael." Then Bre slipped into the boat with Legolas and Gimli. In her mind she thought of what Galadrial had said. Many of her ancesstresses had tried to claim Sourle after the war but it had driven all of them to death or insanity. Eventually they had given the dream up. How could she be any different than the rest of them?

The water was peaceful and clear and for once Bre could relax. There was no sign of orcs or any other foul prescience. Trees drifted by them and at one point they passed the statues of the great kings of old. They ended on the banks of the river at mid afternoon. The fellowship argued and finally Frodo, the most burdened of the hobbits left to think. Boromir left not long after him. Bre did not trust Boromir's intentions but she said nothing. None of the fellowship trusted her even enough to believe her. That was when things began to go wrong. The orcs attacked. Some of them raced past and Bre saw a glimpse of flame colored hair and heard Lacey's voice crying for help. She gave chase, fury driving her foreword. Her bow and quiver lay unguarded and she hesitated only to grab them before continuing the chase. A horn echoed out through the trees as Bre shot an arrow into the back of one of the orcs. She ignored it and continued on. She paused at a ridge and fired arrow after arrow at the orcs. They fell but not fast enough and the ones holding her young friends got away. She let out a moan of disgust and pain. She had failed; Valerie and Lacey were taken. Her promise had been broken.

She trudged back towards where the fellowship was, drawn by some strange compulsion of feelings to see how they were. Something glimmered on the ground. She knelt and picked up a necklace on a white chain. Lacey's name in white curling letters hung in the center. It was a symbol that marked Lacey as one of the hunters who could wield a power. Bre shook her head, smiling bitterly. Lacey's power hadn't been a help to her and Bre's was still growing as much of it had been worn down fighting the poison. She slipped it over her head with her own gold necklace, hoping it would lead her to Lacey; hoping that maybe her failure could be remedied. She picked up her arrows as she went. There was no reason to waste a good arrow and arrows took time to make. Besides that it took her mind off of her failure.

She caught up with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli at the water's edge. "Boromir is gone," Aragorn told her and Bre nodded. She had guessed that much when the sound of the horn of Gondor had vanished. "The orcs have taken the two young hobbits. We are going to track them on foot. Will you come with us willingly or not?" he asked.

Bre paused in thought for a moment. She knew she should probably protest but no one deserved to be taken by orcs. Besides that she might have a chance to help Lacey and Valerie. "Willingly I think. The orcs took a couple friends of mine as well," Bre said.

"Then let the chase begin," Aragorn said and bounded off into the trees. Legolas, Gimli, and Bre followed him. Bre was still holding her bow and quiver. For once no one had bothered to take her weapon.

Ῠ

Translations

_Elvish_

Im ista lin qualme- I heard you're dead

Im tereva- I'm fine

Tulya- come

Ohta tulya. Russes kemi noore.- War comes. Swords soil land.

Im meleth le- I love you

_Hunter Language_

Neve. Este sente- No. It's worse.

Ave canae- I know


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

They ran for hours and days and yet still they were still behind. Bre was trying not to get frustrated for if it was just her alone or her and Legolas they could have caught the orcs but would have been able to do nothing. They were all trying not to give up hope. "Should I tell you a story of my people that may change your ideas about them?" Bre asked finally. She felt as if they had run too far in silence. During the quiet times she tending to begin thinking thoughts best left untouched. The thoughts of death, destruction, loss, and destiny haunted her. She was carrying her things now as well under the condition that if she tried to kill any of them she would not be alive.

"You might as well," Aragorn said and Legolas nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Anything to get my mind off of my aching feet," Gimli declared and Bre smiled. She was growing fond of the dwarf.

"Long ago my people lived on this land with the people of Rohan. We protected them but never the people of Gondor for they mistrusted us and our ways. Then Sauron created the ring. The leader of the hunters at that time was a good man but he was known to be impulsive and reckless at times. He set off into Mordor to destroy the ring. He reached Mordor and the ring almost unhindered. Filled with determination to complete his decided task he touched the ring and was frozen."

Bre paused, gathering her thoughts, then continued. "Sauron felt the disturbance and hurried to his tower. There he found the culprit and bound him to the rings power which Sauron controlled. The leader of the hunters returned to his post and began to call the captains of each group to Mordor to be bound to the ring's lord as well. The war of the ring drew near."

"One town had a captain that had not yet been called to Mordor. Her name was Cassandra but she was known as Cassidy, Lady of Sourle and she was the niece of the captain of the hunters of that time. She and her second in command, Alessandra, refused to go to Mordor. On the day of the war of the ring three ringwraiths traveled to Sourle. Two of them took Cassidy to Modor and the third led those under her command to war. In Mordor Cassidy refused to bend and in desperation Sauron killed her and sent her body to demoralize her friends. Instead they struck out at the rest of the great army with a rage born of hate and pain. Many were killed but Alessandra and Cassidy's daughter, Lunesa, escaped. From that day forth every one of the descendants of Cassidy and those under her command are free from the curse of the ring even though the others are not."

Silence fell over the group then as they pondered Bre's tale. Bre herself remained silent as she pondered the implications of the tale on her own life seeing as she was a descendant of Cassidy of Sourle. Legolas ran ahead after a moment and cried, "Horsemen are coming, many of them."

"The riders of Rohan," Aragorn said. "Come, we will go to meet them. Put up your hood Bre. They will not welcome you gladly." Aragorn waited until Bre had done so and then called, "Hail riders of Rohan. What news from the mark?" The horses wheeled around and soon the companions were surrounded.

"What brings a man, an elf, a dwarf, and another unnamed companion to the mark?" one man asked.

"We are tracking a group of orcs. They have taken two of ours," Aragorn told them. That was when an ear piercing shriek cut through the air. It was answered by the twang of an arrow released from a bow. The seeker dived and Bre let out a shriek that rose high at the end, cutting off suddenly. The seeker turned to dive at her when another arrow hit it dead center in the chest. A young woman with wavy dark brown hair and brown eyes bounded up the slope and into view. Her eyes locked on Bre for a moment from her vantage point before she darted foreword to retrieve her arrows in a sharp yet graceful movement.

Bre was distracted when the man who had been speaking yanked the hood of the cloak down. "A hunter. What brings you foul companions here?"

"Give me your name and I shall give you mine," Gimli said, fingering his axe.

"It is the custom for the stranger to announce himself first but I will tell you anyway. I am Eomer, a marshal of the mark; or so I once was until Theoden fell under some ill spell."

"I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and my companions are Legolas of Mirkwood, Gimli son of Gloin, and Breana daughter of Azreal," Aragorn said. That surprised Bre as much as the others. She hadn't thought he had known her heritage.

"Daughter of Azreal," Eomer murmured. "So children of legends now walk the earth. I shall give you two horses. May they carry you better than their former masters." Then he called forth the horses and the men of the mark galloped away.

That was when the brown haired young woman walked towards them. "Danika," Bre whispered. "I thought it was you**. ****Deve este savia**?"

"**Tamen savia. Vivan nanca les ontras**," Danika said grinning. "I was surprised enough just to see you." Then she brushed a strand of her unruly brown hair away from her face.

"Danika this is Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. You three this is Danika. She was one of those who abandoned Sauron's army with me," Bre told the others. Bre was privately glad for Danika's presence. Danika was an amazing archer among their kind and a logical and loyal friend.

"Alix has been sending more and more seekers out," Danika told Bre. "Oh by the way. These two found me somehow." Then she whistled. Two horses pranced down towards them. One was as black as midnight and the other larger one was white and gray. "I've been riding Snowmane but Midnight won't let anyone but you touch her."

Bre stroked the black mare and said, "And that is how it should be. Right my love." Danika just laughed and shook her head. Bre had raised Midnight as a young girl and her older sister had raised Snowmane. Somehow after her family was murdered so the hunters could have her in their ranks Midnight and Snowmane had found her. They all mounted and began riding toward the column of smoke.

"Who is Alix?" Gimli asked.

Legolas nodded. "I am sure I have heard that name before but I cannot think of where."

"Alix is a **muertante**," Danika spat angrily. Her eyes were dark with a hint of violet in them now that she was angry. Bre could see her friends shoulders stiffen with barely suppressed rage.

"A death bringer," Bre translated. "Alix is my cousin and she is currently in command of the hunters." Bre was also sure that Alix had killed Nikki, Bre's other cousin and Alix's sweet younger sister. Alix had power of her own coiling darkly inside her.

They arrived at the bonfire in solemn silence. The group looked around and found nothing, or so they thought. "They cut their bonds and fled into Fangorn Forest," Aragorn told the rest of the fellowship.

"Then into Fangorn we shall go," Bre said. "Coming Danika?"

"Always," Danika said and so the five of them entered the wood.

Bre rode forward eventually to question Aragorn. "How did you know my lineage?" she asked him.

"Because I saw that the second time I spared your life," he said, motioning to the black silk cord around my neck. I pulled out the necklace which was a pale blue five pointed star, the sign of Azrael. "I guessed then, which is part of the reason you're still alive."

"And the rest of the reason?" Bre asked.

"Is for another story," he told her. The trees soon grew too thick for the group to ride so they walked the horses. Then they saw a rustling in the undergrowth. "It is the white wizard. Do not let him speak or he will spell us," Aragorn said quietly. The man appeared and Legolas fired a bolt. It shattered.

"You are tracking two hobbits," the man in white said. "They came here yesterday and met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" Bre stared at him incredulously. She was sure she knew who he was.

"Gandalf," Aragorn said in astonishment.

"Yes Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey. That is what I was known by. You may call me that still. Now we must hurry to Rohan. The hobbits are safe and the king of the mark needs our help," Gandalf said as he led Bre and the others out of the woods. None of them looked backwards as we rode to Rohan.

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Translations

_Hunters Language_

Deve este savia?- Are you well?

Tamen savia- I'm fine

Vivan nanca les ontras- I don't know about the others

Muertante- deathbringer


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

None of them spoke on the ride to the town of the mark. None of them wanted to know what Theodenking's disability was or what they would need to do to help. Even as they climbed the steps they were silent. That is until they were stopped at the door. "I am ordered by Theodenking to tell you to leave your weapons here," the man said. "As for the hunters their kind may not pass into his halls."

"We shall leave our weapons though we are reluctant to part with them but one of these hunters is our captive and I would not leave her here so she can vanish into the wilds the instant we are gone," Aragorn told the guard as they placed down their weapons. Bre glared at Aragorn but kept her silence, for now. Later she would argue that point in a place a little more private so if she lost she would be spared the humiliation.

"I shall allow that one to enter unarmed then but I will not let the other enter. As for you Gandalf the Grey, you must leave your staff at the door," the door guard told them.

"I will stay gladly. I would not enter the halls of your kind willingly anyway," Danika growled, stalking off. Bre's lips compressed into a disapproving frown but she remained silent, not trusting her tongue to be any less sharp than Danika's. In fact she guessed it would be somewhat sharper and her opinions less repressed.

"Surely you would not deprive an old man of his walking assistance," Gandalf said after a moment. The door guard thought for a moment and then admitted them.

The main hall was dark and Theoden on his throne looked ancient and withered. It was as if the weight of the world had fallen on his shoulders. "You see my lord; the guard at the door has betrayed us. He allowed the wizard to enter your halls with a staff, and a hunter as well," a voice hiss.

"Silence Wormtongue. Keep your sharp words to yourself in the company of your betters," Gandalf ordered and Wormtongue abruptly silenced.

Then he spoke again. "Cast them from thy great halls my lord. Does Gandalf not truly bring ill news every time he arrives?" Wormtongue hissed.

Then Gandalf stood and shed his old cloak and dropped the staff, standing straight and tall. "You speak of things that you know nothing of Wormtongue."

"I told you to order his staff to be taken away," Wormtongue wailed suddenly. There was a brilliant flash of light then and Wormtongue sprawled on the floor.

"Now Theoden will you rise and take heart? All is not lost," Gandalf said, kindly.

Thoeden stood then, with the help of a woman as slim but as strong as a steel blade and the years seemed to fall off of him. "Open the gates for the Lord of the Mark comes out," Gandalf cried and so Bre watched as the king made his way into the sunlight for the first time in months. Even as joy grew around her Bre questioned on how it could last. Her friends were spread far and wide and they were no closer to achieving their goal than when they had begun this journey. Her thoughts were shaken from her mind when Gandalf revealed that Wormtongue was a servant of Saruman. For that offense he was cast out from the grounds.

"That was an ill wind that brings no good," Danika whispered to Bre. "He will return for revenge among the ashes of the dead if he must."

"Guard your tongue," Bre retorted. "I believe there are things transpiring here that no one but the wizard knows of."

"You must know Theodenking that even now the forces of Isenguard gather to attack you," Gandalf warned as they stood in silence.

Theoden nodded solemnly. Bre saw inside him a great sadness that she had only seen in ones who had lost their family. It was the same sadness she had felt when the news of her cousin Nikki's death reached her. However that sadness had been coupled with a great anger towards Alix who Bre believed had murdered Nikki. "We will move to Helm's Deep whose walls have never been breached. We shall go forth my people at the dawn of tomorrow."

"You do not have to come," Bre told her friend. "It would be better if you did not."

"**Neve**," Danika said. "**Ave neve averte le**."

"**Sek**," Bre snapped sharply.

"**Anai. Nostra lineea reca sin le**," Danika said and Bre sighed. She had to face the fact that Danika wasn't leaving without her.

"**Savia**," Bre said reluctantly and Danika smiled. Sometimes Bre wondered if Danika had any idea what something was going to be like before she plunged into it. As she went to tell Aragorn the news she decided that the answer was probably no. It might be better if they stayed together anyway.

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Translations

Hunter's Language

Neve- no

Ave neve averte le- I won't abandon you

Sek- go

Anai. Nostra lineea reca sin le- Listen. Our plan fails without you.

Savia- fine


	7. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

They set out from the town at mid morning the next day with all the people and warriors gathered. Although the time seemed grim the people were cheerful and moved briskly and almost fearlessly forth. Bre felt unease ripple through her but she said nothing. She knew from years of battles that frightened ordinary people went nowhere fast. Eowyn and Gimli were talking and when the horse started Gimli tumbled off it. Eowyn grinned at Bre slightly as she hurried over to the dwarf's side, laughing. Bre grinned back at her from her position leading Midnight and Eowyn went over to join her. "It is a pleasant day," she said and Bre had to smile at the other young woman's calm manner.

"It is. We will make good time," Bre replied. Eowyn smiled and the two walked in companionable silence while Danika rode ahead of them. Bre could see the curve of a smile on her friend's face as she rode. Legolas had run ahead and was standing on the edge of a hill with a rocky overhang when two scouts rode ahead. Bre heard the cry and saw Aragorn move forward to see what was going on. She felt suddenly sick but she didn't allow it to show outside. Suddenly Aragorn turned and ran toward the column of people.

"What is it?" Theoden called to him, galloping foreword.

"Wargs. We are under attack," Aragorn yelled. Screams rang out.

"Maintain the column," Theoden called and his order was repeated down the panicked line. Bre saw Eowyn grab for a sword and saw Theoden deny her. She saw the reluctance on the woman's face as she turned to herd the column in the right direction but away from the fighting. Bre turned to Danika then.

Her oldest friend took one look at her face and shook her head. "**Neve**," she said.

"**Sek,**" Bre ordered.

Danika's face turned anguished from her position on Snowmane. Bre felt a flicker of pain in her chest. "**Devay estava muerte?**" Danika asked sharply.

"**Astra sek**," Bre told her tiredly.

"**Neve. Tamense loquia**," Danika said sharply, moving to dismount. That was when Bre slapped Snowmane on the rump. Danika was forced to hold on as the horse broke into a gallop. "**Ave tricate**," Danika yelled and Bre saw a tear drip down her cheek.

"**Ave canae**," Bre said softly. Then she strung her bow and released Midnight, trusting the horse to stay safe. She made her way on foot to join the others. She was almost there when the first Wargs broke into the line with flying leaps. Bre's arrow flew true but it wasn't enough. With a hiss of suppressed fury she fired arrow after arrow into the despicable creatures. One hit her, colliding against her chest hard enough to pin her to the ground. A well shot arrow hit it in the chest and she breathed in with a gasp as it was yanked off of her. She clambered to her feet and glanced up to see Legolas hit another Warg with an arrow. "Thank you," she gasped out, surprised.

"Don't mention it," he said coldly. Bre could almost feel the dislike rolling off him but besides that maybe something else? She shrugged and knocked another arrow. She would leave it be for now. The battle was short but fierce and soon the Wargs were in retreat. That was when she heard something that chilled her heart. "Aragorn," Legolas called. Bre looked around fully expecting to see him but she didn't. The sinking feeling in her chest grew.

"Aragorn," Gimli called. Now she saw others looking around and she headed in Gimli's direction. The she heard a chilling noise; the laughter of an orc. Gimli held his axe over the dying figure. "Tell me what happened and I'll put you out of your misery."

"He is dead," the orc rasped almost gleefully. "He went over the cliff."

"You lie," Legolas cried but Bre knew he told the truth. The orc took too much pleasure in their pain to be lying.

"Scum," she hissed at him.

"Half blooded traitor," he replied. Then the orc gave a final cough and died. Legolas ran to join Theoden by the edge of the cliff and Bre joined them. She felt a glimmer of hope even as Theoden turned away. The river was deep, there were no rocks, a warg had been there to break the water first, and all rangers could swim. Aragorn was still alive.

"He is gone," Legolas said.

"No he is not," Bre replied shortly. That was when the elf spun and slapped her across the face. Bre stumbled back, stunned.

"What do you know about death? You care nothing for the pain of others just like the rest of your kind. He is dead and yet you mock me and his memory." Bre felt her face flush and she turned, mounting Midnight. Without another word she kicked the horse into a gallop and rode for Helm's Deep. The words just like the rest echoed in her mind.

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Translations

Hunter's Language

Neve-no

Sek-go

Devay estava muerte?- Do you have a death wish?

Astra Sek- just go

Tamense loquia- you're crazy

Ave tricate- I hate you

Ave canae- I know


	8. Chapter 7 Part I

_Important! The next chapter will be written in two parts. The first part (below) is in Aragorn's point of view. The second part which will be posted soon will be the same time frame in Breana's point of view and then move foreword some. Sorry for any confusion._

* * *

_**Chapter Seven Part I**_

Aragorn pulled himself out of the water with a shallow gasp. He took a moment to rest and then sat up. A horse whinnied at him from not far away. He looked up to see a slim girl with long black hair leading his horse down the narrow field. A snow leopard crouched warily next to her. "Thank you," he coughed out and she nodded with a thin smile. He took a closer look at her and saw her dark eyes were flecked with violet. "Who are you?" he asked. She knelt next to him a carefully began drawing characters in the sand with neat strokes. Cynthia. "You cannot speak." She shook her head smoothly. There was something about every moment, as if it was carefully practiced and put together. The leopard knelt next to her, a constant companion.

He stood slowly leaning against the horse for support. "Will you come with me? You'll be safer," he told her. Something told him she was important but he wasn't sure quite what. She thought about it and then slowly nodded. He clambered onto the saddle and then held a hand out to her. She took it with a smile and climbed up easily.

The ride was long and silent with the snow leopard keeping pace with the horse but slowly the twisted path gave way to the long valley that led to Helm's Deep. At the head of the valley he looked back and saw a large horde of orcs. He felt Cynthia's fingers tap a pattern on his shoulder as he tried to come up with a suited estimate of numbers for Theoden. "They're not from Mordor. They are the orcs of Isenguard," he said, answering her question automatically. He felt her stiffen with surprise behind him. "I do understand the sign language, but only some," he explained and she laughed silently. Then he turned the horse and rode for Helm's Deep.

He heard a cry for someone to open the gates and the horse trotted in almost painfully. They had seen the horde coming and Aragorn knew had had to get word to Theoden soon. Cynthia dismounted gracefully and she and her snow leopard companion vanished into the crowd. "Let me at him," a familiar voice growled through the crowd. "I'm gonna kill him." Gimli pushed his way through and walked foreword. "You are the bravest, luckiest man I've ever known," he said hugging Aragorn.

Aragorn smiled and said, "Where is the king?" Gimli indicated a direction in the crowd and Aragorn made his way through to the man building. Legolas stopped him halfway to Theoden.

"_You're late_," he said. Then he looked over his friend. "You look terrible." Aragorn smiled as Legolas pressed Arwen's necklace into his hand. He turned to the side and saw Bre. She gave him a slim smile but her expression turned dark when Legolas turned.

"What happened?" he ask.

"She was right and I was wrong. She knew you weren't dead and I didn't believe her," Legolas said slowly. Aragorn shook his head slightly.

"Apologize. I think she will forgive you for that." Then he made his way to the king's hall of Helm's Deep.


	9. Chapter 7 Part II

_**Chapter Seven Part II**_

Bre rode Midnight hard down the chaotic path that led to Helm's Deep. She was so angry it hurt and she didn't care. They let her into Helm's Deep and Eowyn was there to greet her. "Where are the others?" she asked.

"Coming," Bre said more sharply than she had intended. Eowyn looked at her closely.

"What ails you," the warrior maiden of Rohan asked. Bre sighed heavily, anger fading slowly.

"I will tell you later," she said and dismounted, leading Midnight to the stables. She brushed the sweating horse and then took to the wall with a sigh. Moments later she was startled as a large midnight black panther tackled her. She pushed the large cat off of her and smiled slightly listening to the reverberating purr. She stroked the cat with a sigh. "It's been too long since I've seen you friend," she said softly. The cat purred again and rubbed against her. She sighed deeply, a heavy sound. Shadow, the panther, and Storm, a snow leopard, had been two cats Bre's mentor Cynthia had rescued when they were little and raised. Shadow had become Bre's shadow and Storm had been Cynthia's. Then Cynthia had vanished and so had Storm and Shadow.

There was a commotion in the main courtyard as the rest of the remaining fighters of Rohan galloped in. Bre turned her back on them and sat perched on the edge of the wall. Shadow sat near her an ever silent companion. The day began to pass and fade into late afternoon yet still Bre did not abandon her post. Finally late in the afternoon she saw what she had been looking for. A lone horse road across a distant hill. Aragorn was returning. She made her way back into the wide open space of the main hall to assist Eowyn. She wasn't sure if she wanted to speak to Aragorn or not.

"What is it?" Eowyn asked and Bre silently berated herself. The maiden of Rohan was perceptive, almost too perceptive.

"Aragorn is back," Bre admitted. Eowyn's face lit up with almost heartbreaking hope as she looked past Bre. Bre looked too and saw Aragorn and Legolas talking. Her heart gave a painful twist that she pushed away in order to give Strider a smile. When Legolas looked over she scowled and turned away. She made her way through the joyful chaos and outside to the wall. There she saw a sight she thought she would never see again. "Cynthia." She rang to hug her old teacher, overwhelmed with relief. When the two pulled away from each other Bre exclaimed, "I can't believe Alix didn't have you killed." Cynthia smiled but said nothing and Bre's heart sunk. "You can't speak can you?" Cynthia shook her head and Bre felt sick to her stomach. How could Alix do that to someone? Fury and bile rose through her and she felt as if she was on the edge of tears. "Give me a minute," she told Cynthia before turning and running down the wall leaving her mentor smiling gently behind her.

Less than fifteen minutes later Aragorn found her sitting on the edge of the wall alone. Her fury had finally run dry and so had her tears but Bre was still hurting inside. That Alix could make her oldest friend lose her voice forever was a crime Bre would someday avenge along with all the others her ruthless cousin had committed but for now it was simply a deep hurt that refused to heal. "I wreck everything I'm around," Bre said sourly, sensing his approach.

"Not everything. You give hope to many just by being here and siding with us. Rohan has not forgotten the tales of your kind," Aragorn said sitting down next to her. "It is not your fault that your friend cannot speak."

Bre sighed but reluctantly nodded, seeing no way to escape that point. "Maybe I don't wreck everything but I sure mess up most everything."

Aragorn laughed then and said, "If you're speaking of your friendship with Legolas I think not. He has realized the error of his ways." When Bre glanced at him skeptically he said, "No really. Ask him yourself if you don't believe me." With that said he turned and left Bre staring out into the distance with many things to consider, not least of all the fact that he really was alive and well as she had suspected.


End file.
